 |
 |
Home |
|
Services |
| |
|
|
Writing resources |
|
|
|
|
Practical matters |
| |
|
Style Manuals
General
Scientific
Dictionaries
General
Scientific
Other Resources
Guides to Usage and Prose Style
Handbooks, Encyclopaedias and other reference works
Measurement, Nomenclature and Taxonomy
Guides to Information Sources
| Guides to Usage and Prose Style |
| American Usage and Style: The consensus. RH Copperud. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold; 1980.
Compares the judgements of leading authorities and sources on points of usage and style. |
| The bias-free word finder: A dictionary of nondiscriminatory language. R Maggio. Boston: Beacon Press; 1991. Alphabetical listing of word entries, with alternatives for the terms that connote bias and thoughtful explanations for why they do so. The Writing Guidelines that precede the listings are outstanding, discussing writers' natural frustration and resistance toward writing without bias, why naming is so important to people, and the "insider/outsider rule." |
| Bugs in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose. L Dupré. Rev. ed. Addison-Wesley; 1998. The author, an experienced editor of scientific manuscripts, discusses common inelegancies she has found and how to avoid them, with the aim of equipping readers to discern good style for themselves. |
| The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. TM Bernstein. New York (NY): Atheneum; 1984 |
| Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. E.P.J. Corbett, R.J. Connors. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1999. The long section of this book concerned with style is the best self-help reading we know of for improving your own writing. It shows that style can be analysed (and hence learned), by identifying and discussing the various devices used in prose writing; these were first uncovered in the ancient world. Includes analyses of extended pieces of text. |
| The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. KG Wilson. New York: Columbia University Press; 1993 Defines and illustrates grammatical and syntactical terms and punctuation. Many entries illustrate the nuances of meaning of closely related words. Has a dictionary format. |
| The Complete Plain Words. E Gower, S Greenbaum, J Whitcut, revisers. DR Godline; 1990. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. 2nd ed. HW Fowler; E Gower, reviser. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1965 Two classic guides to clear and precise statement and relevant principles. British in orientation but valuable throughout the anglophile world. |
| The Craft of Scientific Writing. Michael Alley. 3rd ed. Springer-Verlag; 1996. Gets to grips with the less tangible elements of expository style very well indeed. |
| Dissertations and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields. JD Cone, SI Foster. Washington DC: American Psychological Association; 1993. A practical guide for the graduate student, offering a step-by-step approach to initiate and complete a thesis or dissertation. Includes checklists for each stage of the project. |
| Dos, Don'ts and Maybes of English Usage. TM Bernstein. New York (NY): Times Books; 1977. |
| Effective Writing: Improving Scientific, Technical and Business Communication. C Turk and J Kirkman. 2nd ed. E. & F.N. Spon; 1989. Deals with informative writing of all types. Good on graphics. |
| Good Style: Writing for Science and Technology. John Kirkman. E. & F.N. Spon; 1992. Concerned with issues of writing style, not document structure. |
| A Guide to Scientific Writing. D Lindsay. 2nd ed. Longman; 1995. Concise and thoughtful, with good tips throughout. |
| How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. RA Day. Philadelphia (PA): ISI Press; 1979 Provides complete instructions for the writing, preparation, and submission of manuscripts for publication. |
| How to Write and Publish Papers in the Medical Sciences. 2nd ed. EJ Huth. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1990. |
| Lauther's Complete Punctuation Thesaurus of the English Language. H Lauther. Boston: Branden; 1991 A comprehensive and exhaustive guide to punctuation, structures by elements needing punctuation rather than by punctuation marks: words, phrases and adverbial clauses, sentences, quotations, time statements, questions, lists, numbers, titles, and names. One section covers the marks directly; other sections deal with hyphenation, capitalisation, and abbreviation. |
| Longman Guide to English Usage. S Greenbaum, J Whitcut. Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, England: Longman; 1989. |
| Mathematical Writing. DE. Knuth, T Larrabee, PM Roberts. Mathematical Association of America; 1989. Includes an utterly remarkable set of do-it-yourself exercises for improving your writing, by Mary-Claire van Leunen, an editor and textbook writer. The rest of this book is a useful guide. |
| Medical Writing: The Technic and the Art. 4th ed. M Fishbein. Springfield (IL): Charles C Thomas Publisher; 1978. |
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster; 1989. A comprehensive guide to punctuation, grammatical principles, and word usage. |
| Miss Thistlebottom's hobgoblins. TM Bernstein. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux; 1971. Subtitled as the careful writer's guide to the taboos, bugbears, and outmoded rules of English usage. |
| Notes on the Composition of Scientific Papers. TC Albutt. London: British Medical Association Press; 1984. A classic originally published in 1904. Fluent, graceful, and often gently humorous essays on what makes good prose good and bad prose bad; vocabulary, usage, syntax, and other elements that determine the quality of prose style in English. |
| On writing well: an informal guide to writing non-fiction. 4th ed. W Zissner. New York: HarperCollins; 1990. Informal discussion of principles that are basic to strong, uncluttered writing. |
| Publish, Don't Perish: The Scholar's Guide to Academic Writing and Publication. JM Moxley. Westport (CT): Praeger Publishers; 1992. |
| Revising Prose. 3rd ed. RA Lanham. New York: Macmillan; 1992. A short, pithy, witty guide to revising sentences with attention to their shape, length, rhythm and sound. |
| The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. W Strunk, Jr., & EB White. New York: Macmillan; 1979. A classic that offers concise, clear advice on writing well. |
| Scientific English: A Guide for Scientists and Other Professionals. 2nd ed. RA Day. Phoenix (AZ): Oryx Press; 1996. |
| Scientists Must Write. R Barrass. Chapman & Hall; 1978. Deals with informative writing for scientists. A fine "ideas" book which does not stifle with rules. |
| The Scientist's Handbook for Writing Papers and Dissertations. AM Wilkinson. Englewood Cliffs (NJ): Prentice Hall; 1991. A comprehensive treatise on the structure of scientific prose, the writing of scientific documents, the preparation of manuscripts, and the subsequent steps in publication. Includes content on accurate usage. |
| Style: toward clarity and grace. JM WIlliams. Chicago: Chicago University Press; 1990. A contemporary classic on how to write clear, accurate and efficient prose and on how to clean out turgidity, obscurity, verbiage, and confusing sequence. |
| The Use and Abuse of the English Language. [Formerly: The reader over your shoulder]. R Graves, A Hodge. New York: Paragon House; 1990. A thorough guide to analysing and correcting unclear, verbose and confusingly sequenced prose. The principles set forth are as applicable to scientific prose as to prose in other fields. Generously illustrated with examples of flawed style. |
| Why not say it clearly: A guide to expository writing. 2nd ed. LS King. Boston (MA): Little Brown & Co Inc; 1991 |
| Writing in the arts and sciences. P Malcom, GL Belcher, GW Hearn, BF Bodine, & FW O'Connor. Boston: Little, Brown; 1981. Introduces students to the process of library and laboratory research in the sciences; provides step-by-step instructions on preparing the research paper, from draft through final stages. |
| Writing With Precision: How to write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood. JD Bates. 3rd ed. Washington DC: Acropolis Books; 1980. Discusses the principles of clear, effective writing; offers help on preparing and writing specific kinds of material, such as letters, memoranda, and reports. |
| Writing with style: Conversations on the art of writing. JR Trimble. Englewood Cliffs (NJ): Prentice-Hall; 1975. Offers informal advice on the fundamentals of writing, on how to begin and how to proceed, and on the importance of clear thinking in achieving clear writing; also offers specific advice on punctuation, quotations, and general usage. |